Thursday was my 60th birthday. I can't believe how time flies. Birthdays seem to come more quickly as you get older.
It makes sense, though, I suppose. When you were four, a birthday represented a quarter of your life. Now, a year represents a much smaller percentage.
While it's not always pleasant getting older, it sure beats the alternative!
This year, I made a concerted effort to be more healthy, fit, and vital in mind, body, and spirit. I said I wanted to sprint into 60, rather than roll into it.
If you are going to live longer, your future has to be compelling to you. Otherwise, who would want to extend their stay? That is why I strive to keep my future bigger than my past.
As time marches on, I become increasingly grateful for the friends and family who share the journey with me. This year, I spent my birthday in San Diego, surrounded by family and some close friends. On Saturday, they surprised me with a "Birthday Palooza," celebrating my 60th along with my wife Jennifer's 50th.
When I was a kid, I couldn't imagine being where I am today … nor could I imagine the path that got me here.
Looking back, it all seems to make sense (even though it felt pretty random while making my way through it).
I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time, so consistently, and to find the gift in most situations (even when it seemed so well hidden).
I'm grateful for a lot today, and as much as I love innovation, sometimes things are perfect just the way they are.
Hopefully, you took time this weekend to let someone know they're important to you. If not, now is a good time for that too.
I'll admit to being fascinated by the idea of aliens. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, there was no shortage of science fiction fantasies imagining what a space-faring civilization would look like and, more importantly, what would we, the Earthlings, do when they made contact.
Last year, there was a U.S. congressional hearing on Unidentified Flying Objects. While there wasn't any proof of aliens, they did admit to phenomena they couldn't explain with their current information.
Now, we have multiple former military officials testifying in a House of Representatives meeting that the U.S. has recovered not only spacecraft but alien biological matter for decades. While I do believe in the possibility of aliens, I remain skeptical.
In contrast, I have found it more realistic and thought-provoking to consider theories about why we haven't seen aliens until now.
For example, the Fermi Paradox considers the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations and the various high probability estimates for their existence.
Let's simplify the issues and arguments in the Fermi Paradox. There are billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy (which is only one of many galaxies). Each of these stars is similar to our Sun. Consequently, there must be some probability of some of them having Earth-like planets. Further, it isn't hard to conceive that some of those planets should be older than ours, and thus some fraction should be more technologically advanced than ours. Even if you assume they're only looking at evolutions of our current technologies – interstellar travel isn't absurd. Thus, based on the law of really large numbers (both in terms of the number of planets and the length of time we are talking about) … it makes the silence all the more deafening and curious.
If you are interested in the topic "Where are all the aliens?" Stephen Webb (who is a particle physicist) tackles that in his book and in this TED Talk.
In the TED talk, Stephen Webb covers a couple of key factors necessary for communicative space-faring life.
Habitability and stability of their planet
Building blocks of life
Technological advancement
Socialness/Communication technologies
But he also acknowledges the numerous confounding variables, including things like imperialism, war, bioterrorism, fear, moons' effect on climate, etc.
Essentially, his thesis is that there are numerous roadblocks to intelligent life – and it's entirely possible we are the only planet that has gotten past those roadblocks – or that there might have been others in the past, or others may develop in the distant future.
Finally, here are some other links I liked on this topic. There is some interesting stuff you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand or enjoy.
My Aunt recently passed away. She was my Dad's sister … and she was a fantastic person. She was loving and kind. She was a natural-born caregiver, And she was as sharp as a tack. What wouldn't we give for another moment with her? My response to her death reminded me of my feelings when my Dad passed away.
This time, the conversation was a little different. People asked me if I thought that A.I. would enable us to live on after our bodies started to give out on us. I recorded some of my thoughts.
I don't think A.I. will give us life after death.
I do believe technology will get good enough to create a replica of you – that talks like you, responds like you, and even comforts people who miss you.
I don't believe technology can capture whatever part of us doesn't live in our bodies. Whether you call it our soul (or something else), I don't think that will ever get uploaded to the matrix, so you live on.
And, I think that's okay. Part of the beauty of existence is the transience, the joy, the suffering, and the range of human experience. That is a big part of what we call life.
When my Dad was dying, every moment took on new meaning. Not only did time seem to slow down, but there was a weight and intimacy that's often taken for granted.
We often think about the U.S. as the "land of the free." That is good marketing … but is it true? In large part, it depends on the contexts and frameworks you choose to evaluate what constitutes freedom.
For example, Strategic Coach breaks "entrepreneurial freedom" into four categories: time, money, relationships, and purpose.
Meanwhile, if you look at the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, you've got freedom of speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government … and we've since instituted a litany of other freedoms and liberties.
In this post, we will examine the concept of economic freedom. Economic freedom represents more than just freedom to make money, it pertains to the decisions and liberties one has in that pursuit.
According to VisualCapitalist, the ranking uses four broad categories, each with three key indicators to measure economic freedom.
Rule of law: property rights, judicial effectiveness, government integrity
Size of government: tax burdens, fiscal health, government spending
Regulatory efficiency: labor freedom, monetary freedom, business freedom
Open markets: financial freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom
The 12 indicators are weighted equally and scored from 0-100. The overall score is the average score among those indicators.
Based on these metrics, the U.S. doesn't even enter the top 10.
Surprisingly, the U.S. ranks 25th overall – and only 3rd in the Americas.
Now, freedom means a lot of different things, and economic freedom is only one of many modalities … but it's an important factor.
If you were in control, what change would you make to increase the United States' economic freedom? If you're not from the U.S., where does your country rank, and why?
In today’s “Truth is Stranger than Fiction” episode, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg seem to be discussing a "cage match." But, for those of us who have been around awhile, we remember the first real billionaire fight when Herb Kelleher, co-founder of Southwest Airlines, settled a business dispute with a rival by arm wrestling in front of an audience at an arena, in an event dubbed “Malice in Dallas.”
This supposed cage fight started because Elon responded to someone on Twitter saying, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol” to which Zuckerberg posted an Instagram story saying, “Send Me Location.”
Now, their beef isn’t new. Back in 2016, Musk’s SpaceX was contracted to shuttle a satellite into orbit for Facebook. During a routine test, an explosion on the ground caused the satellite to be destroyed, and Zuck to say, “I’m deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX’s launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent.”
Ever since, they’ve been going at it. They take different stances on AI. They’ve gotten off each other’s platforms, etc.
This year, Father's Day was smaller than usual. My wife, Jennifer, is in Indonesia, and my older son is on the west coast.
Meanwhile, my younger son, Zach, took me to one of our favorite Asian restaurants with his new Fiancée, Sloane.
I've been calling her my daughter-in-law since he brought her home (because some things are inevitable and easy to recognize).
Reflecting on the past year, I'm grateful for my granddaughter (from my married son, Ben, and his wife). And, I'm also grateful that Zach and Sloane got engaged and started to plan the rest of their lives together (and hopefully more grandchildren for me).
As a father, having great kids is a double blessing. On one hand, it's nice to be proud of who your kids are and the things they do. On the other hand, it's also nice to feel proud of the small part you played in helping them become who they are.
Of course, I also look back … and spent some time thinking about my father and his terrific influence on so many lives.
My Dad believed in setting high standards. He explained that most people's lives are defined by their minimum standards. Why? Because once those standards are met, it is easy to get distracted by other things (and figuring out how to meet the minimum standards for them as well).
He was also my best friend.
I see so much of him in myself, and in my children, and many of the aphorisms I teach come from him. I'm grateful that I can still see his impact on the world.
There is nothing wrong with your television. We will control all that you see and hear. We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand one single image to crystal clarity and beyond. We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive. Enjoy ….
There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image; make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to the outer limits.
We believe what we want to believe, so it can be very hard to change a belief, even in the face of contrary evidence.
Since the past election cycle, we've seen a massive uptick in distrust toward news agencies, big companies, the government, and basically anyone with a particularly large reach.
To a certain degree, this is understandable and justified. Here is an example of the power of the media focused on a message. Click to watch.
Propaganda has always been an issue, and almost everyone does it; governments, companies, etc. Luckily, it's easier to see today than in the past, but unluckily it's also more pervasive and insidious than before.
It's to the point where if you watch the news you're misinformed, and if you don't watch the news you're uninformed.
The above segment portrays a rosy picture of Amazon's efforts to protect its workers while delivering essentials to the struggling homebound masses. This comes while Amazon has come under massive fire for removing some of its protections.
Honestly, I use Amazon and, in my opinion, this isn't a massive breach of trust. News stations have a lot of time to fill, they often have sponsored content.
That being said, it's something to be cognizant of – not necessarily offended by.
Personally, I believe I am reasonably aware and somewhat immune from propaganda. That probably isn't as true as I'd like to believe.
It used to be true that winners wrote history (think empires, wars, etc.). Now, the one that delivers the most broadcast narratives shapes the emotional and seemingly logical responses to what we perceive to be happening around us.
The result impacts elections, financial markets, buying choices, and countless other areas of our life.
It's a great reminder that what you're seeing and hearing is carefully manufactured, and hopefully, it encourages you to get outside your bubble.
I think one of the worst consequences of the past few years is the unwillingness of mass swaths of Americans to listen to voices they disagree with. The internet has already created echo chambers, but it's being exacerbated by vitriol. As a result, I think we're seeing the fringe of both parties move further away from the middle.
